Your shells look great--I'll have to try it some time. Here's how I keep my store-bought shells from breaking in the middle: heat in oven according to directions, remove from oven & immediately put shredded cheese in bottom of shell--even before the meat. The moisture in the cheese keeps the shell from cracking (even though they're less likely to crack anyway when heated). Then load them up with all the other stuff . . . even lettuce. :-)

If you can find a product called "masa harina", this is treated corn flour.

Mix two cups of this with a cup of water and a bit of salt. Then divide this into 16 pieces. Put them between sheets cut from a ziploc bag and press it down with something flat and heavy (iron skillet or a pot). Peel it out and heat them up in the iron skillet until they brown on each side. Then you have fresh corn tortillas to make tacos, tostadas, quesadillas, whatever you enjoy.

did you know that in mexico "we" do not use hard taco shells ? those "things" are an invention of taco bell... (i feel awkward to even refer to them as shells, would you say a bun is a shield for meat in a burger ??) we do use a flat not so deep fried tortilla ( thicker kind ) and top it with lots (i mean LOTS) of different things on it and its called tostada (toasted) and for lettuce ... real tacos have no lettuce on it ... lol i know one dish or one recipe can evolve and become to a new recipe but still feels strange to us . any way johnny ... nice vid, that is the way to start many many recipes with tortillas... try this. tacos dorados de pollo (fried chicken tacos) roll a fresh tortilla, fill it with chicken breast (cooked and shredded), roll it and let it sit for 10 to 20 minutes (or use a tooth pick across the taco to keep it in shape), add half of cup (maybe more) veg oil and deep fried the taco until crisp and light brown, strain excess oil and serve in sets of three cover with lettuce (well i said tacos had no lettuce... rule ... fried tortillas can have lettuce) add thin sliced fresh tomato, sower cream and salsa ... hot salsa (i guess an instructable is in order....) and enjoy .... i´ll post an instructable ...i promise ... johnny nice instructable and a GREAT way to have fresh hard taco ... tortilla (shell ...lol) .

According to my mother in law from Tecuala, a taco placero (taco truck type taco for those who don't know) won't have lettuce. Every other taco does. But then again, it may just have to do with where you live. And I agree, the tostada is TOTALLY different from a taco.

I nevre understood why people don't get this. I guess I ate alot of tacos growing up because this is the only way I've ever know to make taco shells. Hell when I had some one tell me I could just buy them at the store I almost fainted! Ofcourse these taste a billion times better.